Romero

  For so long, she’d yearned to feel that magical feeling of true love. That feeling of needing to be around someone always, and as scary as that feeling was, it was also intoxicating. Then just like that, because of her stupid inability to stand up to her sister sooner, she’d blown it.

  After one long sob into her pillow, she heard the knock at the door. She sat up, and tried to catch her breath, contemplating whether or not to answer it. Lawrence often came over unexpectedly to drop off or borrow a book. Sometimes just to chat. She was in no mood to talk to him or anyone.

  “Izzy, you there?”

  She jumped off her bed, not caring what a mess she must look like, and rushed to the front door. She opened the door with her hand over her mouth, feeling like sobbing again when she saw him.

  Romero hesitated, then took the one step up and wrapped his arms around her.

  “I’m so sorry.” she said, against his shoulder.

  He squeezed her tight, kissing her temple and head, then pulled away to look at her. He wiped the tears with his thumb. “We need to talk.”

  Romero closed the door behind him and took her to the sofa in the front room. They sat down, facing each other. Isabel was overwhelmed with relief, but more than anything, filled with a happiness beyond any she’d ever felt. Even with her stupidity, he’d come back to her. But she cautioned herself, she still didn’t know why or what exactly he wanted to talk to her about.

  He moved a few strands of hair away from her face and wiped the corners of her eyes. He stared at her for a moment, too serious, and she wished to God, she could see that smug smirk of his again so she’d know everything was okay. His expression went suddenly even more rigid. “I need the truth.” His jaw clenched. “Did you do anything with him?”

  “No.” She shook her head adamantly.

  “Then what was so fucking fantastic about it?”

  “I don’t know. My sister and Charles were with us the whole time. But I promise you nothing. I would never…” Isabel moved over and straddled him, feeling how tense he was.

  He brought his arms around her. “You gotta know how crazy that would make me if you ever did. Izzy. I don’t know what I’d do.”

  “It’ll never happen.” He kissed her neck. She loved how she lost all her inhibitions around him. He made her feel like an entirely different person. Being with him made her not care about anything else. None of the petty things that bothered her so much before mattered anymore. She’d actually begun to escape the need for everything to be perfect. Something bigger was much more satisfying now.

  His expression softened but very little before he spoke again. “I need to know that your sister is not—”

  “She’s not! That was the last time. I promise.”

  “I know to your family, I’m not much—”

  “No!” She reached for his hand. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth, Isabel.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “Please don’t call me that. I’ve never hated the sound of my own name so much as I did this morning when you called me that.”

  His jaw tightened. “I was pissed.”

  “I know, and it felt so wrong. I don’t like you being pissed at me.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Izzy, I don’t blame you for not telling your family about me.”

  “But I did. I told them yesterday. Well, my mom and Pat, and they want to meet you. I told them they would—soon.” She took a deep breath, still feeling drained from her cry earlier. “I’d been so caught up with you these last few weeks, I completely forgot about the date. So when she called the other day to tell me about it, it was too late, she’d already planned it. I didn’t want to get into some long drawn out explanation. I wasn’t ready yet. So since you were working, I figured I might as well get it out of the way.” She stared into those beautiful hazel eyes that could flare up so quickly. “It was so boring. All I thought of was you the whole time. I kept waiting and expecting him to make me laugh like you do.”

  She saw his expression harden again and his eyes darken. “Why would you?”

  “I just told you?”

  “I meant I know nobody will ever make me feel the way you do. So I’d never even expect it. Why would you?”

  She shook her head. “My point was, all I could think of the entire night was you. The first thing I did when I got home was text you.” She leaned her forehead against his. “You forgive me?”

  “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t,” he said, tightening her hold around her. “Truth is, I was being a hypocrite today.”

  That confused her and she stared at him. He laughed. “I was mad at you for not telling your family about me, and I did the same thing to my uncles. I didn’t tell you about them because I was afraid of what you might think.”

  “Why?”

  “They’re… different, but they’re good guys. You’ll see when you meet them.”

  She smiled. “Okay. But first you’re meeting my mom and sister.” She tried to act as if it were no big deal, but she was more nervous about it than she’d ever admit to him. “Tomorrow we’re having dinner with them.”

  The first thing she did after Romero stormed out today and he didn’t pick up any of her calls, was call her sister and mom and made sure they kept their evening open for her. She had no idea Romero would be coming back tonight, but she was hoping by tomorrow she would’ve at least heard from him.

  He stared at her silently for a moment, that intensity in his eyes that made her that perfect kind of nervous. “I think I love you,” she whispered.

  His eyes widened. She held her breath. It was too soon. She shouldn’t have told him.

  “You think?”

  She was suddenly choked up. This day was too much. “Is it too soon?”

  He sat up, putting his hands around her face. “You love me?” His expression looked almost frantic. Had she scared him that much? She stared at him, afraid to answer.

  “I fucking love you, Izzy. I’ve been so scared to freak you out, but I do.”

  She fell into his chest. “I love you! I do! And you’re happy?” This was insane.

  “Yes, I’m happy!” His big hands swallowed up her face. “Are you crazy? I can’t stop thinking about you!”

  His expression suddenly went from ecstatic to troubled. “What?” She searched his eyes.

  “I don’t know about you, and I don’t think I wanna know, but I’ve never done this relationship thing. I probably won’t be very good at it. And I sure as hell never met any girl’s family, and your family…” His eyes were genuinely horrified. “I’m gonna screw this up, Izzy.”

  “No you’re not,” she said, with a nervous laugh.

  But the magnitude of this jolted her. She’d never dealt with anybody like Romero in her life. She was a peaceful spring day to Romero’s level-five tornado. She’d suspected it before, but he confirmed it today when he blew up. Oh, she saw him try to conceal it, but there was no hiding the inferno in his eyes. In the past, like any sane girl with even an ounce of sense, she would’ve run the other way from a man like Romero, but strangely, it was part of the attraction.

  My family is going to love you. She almost said it, but she didn’t think she could pull it off with a straight face. “We can do this,” she said instead, kissing him.

  “You really love me?” he asked, against her lips.

  “I really do,” she smiled.

  He stared in her eyes, as if he was still trying to find the doubt in them. He’d never find it because as much as it scared her, she’d never felt like this for anyone. It was everything she ever dreamed of and so much more. He kissed her, pulling her down on the sofa and pressing his body against hers.

  She pushed away thoughts of asking him to wait for her to get a towel, so they wouldn’t mess the sofa. Okay, maybe she wasn’t entirely cured of her obsessive need for neatness and perfection. But she could work on it.

  ***

  Yesterday had been one of the most emotional days of Romero’
s life. One he wouldn’t be sharing with anyone else. Not even his uncles had gotten much out of him, except for an explanation of how he met Isabel and what she was like. Each time he’d started describing her he had to remind himself his uncles were watching him closely, because he got so into it. By the time he realized he was laughing about things there was no way his uncles could understand until they met her, they were staring at him as if they didn’t even know the guy in front of them.

  Maybe they didn’t anymore. Maybe he was a new person. He sure as hell felt like one. Hearing Isabel say she loved him last night, had to be the best moment of his life. If he hadn’t heard her himself, he would’ve never believed it. Not only had he been certain what he was feeling for her was completely nuts, he’d known from the very beginning they were from different worlds. It was easy to understand how even then, he’d fall so hard for her. Even as he spoke about her to his uncles he couldn’t believe the crazy emotions he felt just talking about her. But he never expected someone like her to fall for him.

  The anxiety he’d been so unfamiliar with, until he started seeing Isabel, was the only thing annoying about the whole situation. He felt it even now, as he drove into her apartment parking lot. Meeting her sister tonight was going to be a challenge. He’d never been one to fake what he was feeling and he already knew he wasn’t going to like her, but he didn’t want to screw things up, so for once in his life he actually planned on biting his tongue if he had to.

  Alex’s truck was in the parking lot. Romero wasn’t surprised. Valerie had obviously spent the night with him the night of the bonfire, and last night he’d called Romero to ask how things were with him and Isabel. Romero started to bust his balls, because Alex almost never called him, especially not to talk about relationships, but then Alex admitted Valerie had put him up to it. Apparently, they’d been together all weekend and here he was again. Romero always knew Alex had it bad for Valerie.

  The door was open, so he knocked once before letting himself in. He expected to see Alex who stood waiting in the front room. “Hey, Alex.”

  Alex greeted him but Romero barely paid him much attention. What he didn’t expect was to see some dude in Isabel’s kitchen talking to her as she sliced up food.

  “Izzy? You cooking? I thought we were going out for dinner?” He barely managed a smile, feeling that same agitation he’d only ever felt since he met Isabel.

  He checked the guy out as he walked past him, toward Isabel. He saw it immediately. Even though the guy looked a little older than all them, he was bothered by Romero. Was this another one of her snobby family members or…

  “No, I’m just making snacks,” Isabel said.

  As soon as he was close enough he kissed her, and it was no peck, but she pulled away too quickly. Romero gulped, trying not to get worked up. Her not wanting to make out in front of other people was understandable, but the look on the dude’s face was almost as bothered as Romero was beginning to feel. So he brought his hand down from Isabel’s back and rubbed her ass, hoping the fucker would say something. Isabel stiffened at the touch of his hand on her behind, and he felt bad about making her uncomfortable, but not bad enough to move it away.

  The guy cleared his throat loudly, clearly afflicted by Romero’s actions. He waved the book in his hand at Isabel. “Let me know, Isabel, when you’re ready for some more Tolstoy. I have them all.”

  “Tolstoy?” Romero asked.

  The asshole shook his head and gave Romero that look he’d seen all too many times growing up, usually directed at one of his uncles who were either talking too loud or cussing in a public place. That repulsed, your kind are all the same, look. “Nothing you’d be familiar with, I’m sure.”

  That almost set Romero off, but before he could react, Isabel moved away from him suddenly, catching him off guard and walked around the counter. “I’ll walk you out, Lawrence.”

  Romero watched as Isabel walked out with this guy who, apparently, she didn’t think was important enough to introduce to him to, or was this someone else she didn’t want knowing about him?

  “Who is that guy?” he asked Alex.

  Alex lifted an eyebrow and shrugged. “Their neighbor.”

  Their neighbor?

  Valerie walked out of her room and said something to Alex while Romero was still preoccupied with thoughts of Lawrence the neighbor. “Oh hey, Romero. Where’d Isabel go?”

  “Outside, with that dude. Does he come over here a lot?”

  She glanced at Alex then back at him. “Lawrence? No. Not really. He was just here to pick up some books Isabel borrowed.”

  Alex and Valerie walked to the door. Romero followed them. Isabel was taking too long. Even though Alex stood in front of him, blocking his view, he still heard Lawrence. “…I mean really, Isabel. I can see Valerie with someone like that, all brawn and undignified. But you? I gotta say, not only am I stunned, but a bit disappointed.”

  Instantly on fire, Romero jumped in front of Alex, down the two steps of her apartment and right into Lawrence’s stunned face. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  Lawrence backed away a step but stood his ground. “I was just making an observation. There’s no law against that.”

  Romero knew he was close to losing it but as usual, there was little he could do about it. “You don’t know shit about me, asshole!”

  When he saw Lawrence start to point a finger at him, that was it. Romero pushed him hard in the chest with both hands. The guy stumbled back flipping over the bushes in front of the apartment. “Oh my God!” Valerie gasped.

  Alex jumped in front of him before he could charge at him. “Easy.”

  One glance at Isabel and he saw she was completely stunned and he gulped hard, glad he’d decided to push Lawrence instead of clocking him like he’d really wanted to. This probably never happened in her world.

  “You see!” His attention was averted back to a red-faced Lawrence, who barked at Isabel, then pushed her hands away as she tried to help him up. “This is exactly what I was talking about.”

  Romero lost it. “Did you just push her?” He nearly broke free from Alex’s hold, who bear hugged him in reaction.

  “Get him out of here, babe.” Alex warned Valerie, then to Romero he said, “Relax, dude. If he’d pushed her, I’d let you at him.”

  Lawrence didn’t have to be asked twice. He left quickly and they all went into the apartment. Romero didn’t even care that Alex and Valerie were still there. He was livid. “Why does that asshole even care who you’re with?”

  He hated to see that apprehensive look in Isabel’s eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her. So when she turned to Valerie and Alex who announced they were out of there, he tried to get a grip, but he couldn’t bring himself to even look away from her.

  As soon as they walked out, she turned back to him. “Okay, so he’s an idiot,” she said, stating the obvious.

  “Why does he care?”

  “We used to go out.”

  Romero stared at her. Her words felt like a slap, even though she’d said them in the calmest of tones. Last night he said he didn’t want to know if she’d ever done the relationship thing. Now he wondered how many she’d been in. Would she be comparing him to this uptight asshole? Who else would she be comparing him to? He took a deep breath. “How long?

  “Not very long at all.” She slipped her hand into his. “I stopped seeing him because he was so arrogant, but we stayed friends because we’re neighbors and I didn’t want things to be awkward.”

  This could be a problem. If Romero ever ran into the prick again, things could escalate real quick. “Look, Izzy,” he said, trying to sound calm. “This is your place. I can’t tell you who you can and can’t have over. But you can’t expect me to be cool if you have another guy here, especially an ex.”

  To his surprise she laughed. “I seriously doubt Lawrence is ever setting foot near my place again. The only other guy you’ll probably run into around here now, is Alex.”

&n
bsp; Just seeing her smile made some of the tension he felt dissipate, but not completely, there was still the matter of dinner with her sister. She wrapped her arms around his waist. He breathed in deeply, hugging her and kissing her forehead. He’d put the thought of Lawrence aside for now. There was something he’d wanted to ask her even last night, but he’d never had make-up sex and there was no fucking way he was ruining a night of that. “So what did your sister have to say about me?”

  “Surprisingly, not a whole lot. I think she was in shock. She had no idea I was seeing anyone but she’ll be grilling me soon, I’m sure.”

  Romero looked down into her eyes. “What are you gonna tell her?”

  The corner of her lips went up. “What do you think I should tell her?”

  “What I told my uncles.”

  “And what was that?”

  Every time he thought he’d seen all her expressions she surprised him with a new one and he smiled even more certain about what he told his uncles. “That you’re the one.”

  Her eyebrows pinched just as her eyes filled with tears. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really.” He kissed her softly.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  He stared at her wishing his brain could get past the I think part when she’d said it the first time. As unreal and amazing as it felt to hear her say it, her facial expressions were beginning to give too much away and he’d been staring at her then, too. The uncertainty was as plain as the tears in her eyes now. He, on the other hand, was one hundred percent sure of what he was feeling. “I love you, too, Izzy.”